The hot topic among NASCAR fans and media Wednesday night was the sanctioning body's decision to indefinitely suspend Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements for an “intolerable and insensitive remark” made during an interview last weekend.

However, NASCAR did not reveal what the remark was or who it was made to. That left us all to speculate. Theories included everything from alleging that NASCAR fixed Daytona 500 qualifying so Danica Patrick got the pole to a tweet Clements made that criticized the quality of racing in the 500.

Late Wednesday, ESPN.com's David Newton was told by a source that the remark was of a racist nature. On Thursday, Clements confirmed that to ESPN reporter Marty Smith but would not tell him what it was or who he said it to.

Said Clements to Smith:

"When you say racial remark, it wasn't used to describe anybody or anything. So that's all I'm going to say to that. And it really wasn't. I was describing racing, and the word I used was incorrect and I shouldn't have said it. It shouldn't be used at all."

That mystery was solved Friday when MTV - of all places - made an announcement that Clements used the "n-word" in an interview with Marty Beckerman, blogger for the network's "Guy Code" show.

Beckerman told MTV's Web site that he was at Daytona "to do a fish-out-of-water story about going to NASCAR and having a wild, crazy weekend." He was looking to speak to female Nationwide Series driver Johanna Long when he asked Clements to direct him toward Long's team's hauler.

While Beckerman had Clements' attention, he decided to ask him - in the presence of a NASCAR public relations official - a question for the piece.

"I explained to him that Guy Code is rules for guys, how you treat your friends, how you treat your ladies, things like that. I was there to do a humor piece, so I asked him what would be Guy Code for race car drivers, and he blurted out [a phrase that used the n-word]."

Clements said he did not mean that term racially, that it was a way of saying "if you drive roughly, you'll be treated roughly."

It was definitely a poor choice of words. Clements called Beckerman Thursday as the story was developing to express his regret for saying it. Beckerman wasn't even sure if the quote was going to make his piece in the first place.

Either way, the NASCAR community weighed in Friday, as practice began for this weekend's Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Phoenix.

“I don’t like it. There’s no room for that in my life. … When one person’s mistake looks bad on the sport, it’s unfortunate.”

While there's no way to accept anyone using a racial slur - in jest or not - I happen to agree with USA Today NASCAR blogger Jeff Gluck, who feels that an indefinite suspension does not fit Clements' crime.

" ... imagine for a moment that Clements used the most offensive word possible — just pick the one you'd be offended by the most. Is uttering that worth an indefinite ban when DUIs go virtually unpunished?"

Gluck cited an instance last year where Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer said his fight with Jeff Gordon in the pits at Phoenix "made us all look like retards." Despite a loud backlash, especially from mental health groups, Bowyer didn't even receive a slap on the wrist.

If anything, Clements should be commended for owning up to his actions. He told Smith that he admitted to using the word when asked by NASCAR on Sunday and that his "indefinite" suspension is for a minimum of two races.

One race? Maybe. Two? Had it been aired on live television, sure. But to call it an "indefinite" suspension for an ill-advised choice of words in an impromptu interview that wasn't even being recorded is a little extreme.